Supergirl, or Kara, and her adventurous pup Krypto, per IMDB.
Last summer, DC made a triumphant debut in releasing its own cinematic universe with the release of Superman. It ended up being one of my favorite films last year, and is probably in my all-time favorite superhero movie list. Alongside the release of The Batman in 2022, DC has slowly made steps in the right direction to fix its reputation, after the rough DCEU that plagued the mid-to-late 2010s. With that said, the hype for future releases was very real, and Supergirl is the first film in the universe to follow up Superman.
And it wasn’t the best follow-up. Putting it shortly, Supergirl is an extremely generic superhero movie that follows the same beat and template we have seen from plenty of prior films in the space.
This truly is such a shame because Superman, to me at least, was a trendsetter. It switched up the formula for a superhero movie; it was such a fresh take on not only the character but the genre as a whole. That is part of the reason why it proceeded to gross over $600 million, beating out a stacked summer of legacy sequels and remakes. As for Supergirl, it felt like a step back.
This film was just fine, to put it plainly. I didn’t feel too strongly in the direction of it being bad or good.
To start with the good, I thought the performances from Milly Alcock as Supergirl and Jason Momoa as Lobo were fantastic. They have earned the right to stay around as these characters for a long time. It was clear that Momoa had wanted this role for years. He was the star of the show whenever he was on screen, and the only downside to his character is that he was not here enough. I was always fine with him being Aquaman, but his version just didn’t feel right. Lobo was made for him. Visually, he looked like he was pulled straight out of the comics.
Milly Alcock was perfect too. We saw a glimpse of her character in Superman, and in those few seconds she was on screen, she was great. Getting that chance to see her in her own film here was amazing; once again, it’s a role where I now cannot really imagine someone else playing. Her character isn’t in the best place mentally to start off, and she conveyed that emotion well.
Most people know Supergirl’s origin at this point; she had to experience Krypton’s destruction and lost everyone she loved. Here, that burden affects Kara’s way of finding a true home. She feels out of touch with the people of Earth, and everywhere she goes, she’s too powerful to be “normal.” Alcock sells this struggle so well, and I hope we get a follow-up to see where her character is in the future. I would also like to point out the action. I thought the majority of the action sequences were fun and engaging to watch, but there were many points where the focus pulled away from Supergirl too much and, similar to the Moon Knight TV show, we only get to see a glimpse of her power or the effects of a fight. Of course, there was also her beloved dog Krypto, who we didn’t get to see much, but he was the star of the show anytime he was around, much like in Superman. DC just announced an animated show for him, and I cannot wait to watch it.
Now, as for the negatives, I think it starts with the overall story.
It feels like one I have seen a million times before, whether it’s in a movie, video game or TV series. As mentioned, there was a clear idea here of Kara/Supergirl trying to find out where she belongs and who she actually is. However, this is explored on a very surface level, and it felt like the movie was playing it safe when tackling that.
On the other hand, the story equally follows Ruthye, played by Eve Ridley, who is on a revenge mission to kill the man who killed her family, Krem, played by Matthias Schoenaerts. Kara is going after him to find an antidote, which brings them together to hunt down Krem. Once again, here we see all the typical beats you would see from this type of story and, sprinkled in, we see glimpses of Kara’s origin and how she got to Earth.
Next, I would like to point out the CGI, which is genuinely some of the worst I’ve seen in a movie — at points, not the entire thing — since The Flash in 2023. It was so noticeably bad at points that I couldn’t help but laugh. Then there were the jokes: this film makes many attempts at humor, but they wouldn’t land. And then I’d just roll my eyes.
The music is not the best, to say the least, especially the licensed music. The director, Craig Gillespie, made attempts to imitate James Gunn with his usage of music, and it just didn’t work. You can tell it’s Gunn’s universe, but it felt more like this was trying to mimic his style rather than run parallel to it. Of course there is also the villain Krem, who was not interesting in the slightest. I feel like I have seen this same character countless times before. He had some interesting moments that really make you hate him, but overall he’s extremely forgettable, and just doesn’t do enough for me to care about him in the long run.
Finally, I want to focus on Ruthye. there was just something about this character that wasn’t working for me. Maybe it was the acting, or just the character’s actions overall, but I was not a fan at all. Most of the time when she was on screen, which was often, I was just annoyed. This movie feels like it could have worked without her and that’s its biggest offense. She didn’t bring nearly enough to the table for me to care about her in the way that I should.
I really hope DC can bounce back with Clayface. One thing I said over and over again in this review is that the movie felt like it was something I’ve seen before, and that is why I couldn’t enjoy it to its fullest potential.
Clayface at least looks like it’ll be an interesting and unique horror take on the superhero genre, and right now that looks like the best way for the DCU to bounce back. I wanted so much more from Supergirl and unfortunately it didn’t fully deliver. Hopefully James Gunn learns a lesson from here and understands fans want more stuff like Superman and that we want distinct stories.
I rate Supergirl a 6.5/10, which is near the lowest mark for me this summer.
Jayden Pinto is The Eight30’s lead entertainment columnist. Find him on Letterboxd for more immediate reactions on new releases: @JaydenP0205
